Flooding in Vietnam Not Caused by Hydropower Plants

The ministry said central provinces namely Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Thua Thien Hue, Binh Dinh and Phu Yen currently have 23 hydropower projects in operation, including 15 large hydropower projects.

 

The General Department of Energy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said the country now has 268 hydropower projects in operation (14,240.5 MW) and 205 projects under construction (6,198.8 MW), scheduled to be operational from now until 2017. In particular, the Central Highlands region has 118 operational hydroelectric projects (5,978.2 MW) and 75 underway projects (1,945.2 MW), expected to be put into operation from now to 2015.

 

Rebuffing the opinion that the November flooding is caused by floodgate opening by hydroelectric plants, representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Trade argued that such opinion did not reflect enough objective realities. The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) reported that "The operation of hydropower reservoirs in the central region is kept in line with processes approved. This did not cause more flooding for the lowland but it helped reduce flooding in the lowland although these reservoirs do not have the function of preventing flooding."

 

In addition, the ministry's officials added that flood and storm prevention agencies actively coordinated with localities to regulate water discharging processes as prescribed to the operation of reservoirs during the November flooding period.

 

Remarking on the effect of hydroelectric projects, Industry and Trade Minister Vu Huy Hoang said: "The investment for the construction of hydropower projects has importantly helped ensure energy security and serve the socioeconomic development of the country. Particularly in 2012, hydropower plants contributed 48.26 percent of capacity and 43.9 percent electric production (approximately 53 billion kWh) for the electricity system. This is a clean, renewable and cheaper energy source than other power sources. The investment in the construction of hydroelectric projects has also actively contributed to the creation of water for production and living."

 

At the meeting, the Ministry of Industry and Trade spotlighted some limitations of hydropower. According to the report, the cascade-styled reservoir planning of big projects is researched and developed systematically but small projects still have a lot of limitations. Quality management over small hydropower projects has not been fully implemented. Therefore, the area of forests needed to be replanted is usually smaller than that required. Land compensation and resettlement works are not very good at some big projects and need to be improved in the future. Livelihood and production activities of reallocated residents are still difficult and unsustainable, resulting in higher poverty than the province's average rate. Safety management over dams and reservoirs at small hydropower projects is generally not fully implemented.

 

Minister Vu Huy Hoang stressed that planning works and underway projects will be reviewed to ensure quality, safety and environmental requirements. He noted that investors who fail to meet requirements will have their projects stopped for correction. In addition, investors will have their licensed projects revoked if they lack the capacity for implementation. Completed projects that fail to meet legal requirements will not be granted operation permits. The process of operating reservoirs will be reviewed and rationalised as well.